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HOA Letter Asks Parents Not To Let Kids Play In Their Front Yards

The letter complained about a family’s kids playing in their own front yard

Homeowners associations can be good for a lot of things. They provide and maintain neighborhood amenities like pools and green spaces. They ensure that homes and yard remain well kept, protecting your property value. They keep children out of sight.

Wait, what?

A HOA in a California neighborhood is under fire for a letter it sent to one of its members asking that he stop letting his kids play in front of his house. Jed Peters and his family had only lived in their new Granite Bay, California, neighborhood for about two months when they received the letter, which included a handwritten note that read, “We have received several reports from homeowners who have almost hit your children while they have been playing in the streets — Please have your children play in your backyard or at Gina Park.”

Peters says the note can’t actually be about his kids’ safety, because multiple families in the neighborhood have kids that play in front of their homes and ride their bikes in the neighborhood’s quiet streets.

Image via CBS Sacramento

Let’s get this straight; someone in the neighborhood is actually pissed to see kids playing outside? Why do we get the feeling that same person also complains about how kids do nothing but play video games these days? Maybe because a person who complains about being able to see kids playing in their own front yard must be a miserable complainer about everything?

“Honestly we were a little put out, real upset to the fact we didn’t feel welcome in our neighborhood,” Peters told CBS Sacramento, adding that he posted the letter on social media and got a lot of support from his neighbors, who also found it ridiculous and unnecessary.

“We had over 75 positive responses from our neighbors,” he said. “They said we want kids out front, not playing video games.”

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One of those neighbors, Stacey Degner, said her kids play in the street regularly, but she’s never received a complaint.

“We were baffled by it,” she said. “Seriously, this is really happening?”

An anonymous member of the HOA’s board told CBS Sacramento that there are no written rules against kids playing in the street. She also admitted that “the letter wasn’t worded correctly.” The board is holding a meeting this week to discuss the letter, and CBS reports that a large turnout from the neighborhood is expected. But the Peters family expects this to blow over sooner rather than later.

“I think this neighborhood is wonderful, I think there’s maybe one bad apple that got a little cranky and didn’t want to see the kids out,” Peters’ wife, Suzanne, said.

In the meantime, we hope their kids are having a blast playing outside wherever they damn well please.